Treatment machine for heat treatment of sensitive material



MICHIO KAWAMURA ETAL 3,371,915

Mara. 5, 1968 TREATMENT MACHINE FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF SENSITIVE MATERIAL Filed Aug. 12, 1966 INVENTORS memo KAWA KATSUH MURA EDA GAMI ISA U YOSHIZO IKE KUN|OM| ABE M Ma ATTORNEY 5 United States Patent Ofitice 3,371,915 TREATMENT MACHINE FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF SENSITIVE MATERIAL Michio Kawamura and Katsuhisa Ueda, Tokyo, and Yoshizo Ikegami and Kuniomi Abe, Hyogo, Japan, assignors to Fuji Shashin Film Kabushiki Kaisha, Kanagawa, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed Aug. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 572,088 Claims priority, application Japan, Aug. 13, 1965, 40/ 49,111 1 Claim. (Cl. 263-6) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A heater for light sensitive material to be heat treated, having a nonrotatable drum. The surface of the drum is provided with an uneven temperature distribution by means of a heat source and a mirror within the drum.

The present invention relates to the heating system of a heat treatment machine for heat treatment of sensitive material. In prior heat development treatment machines, the periphery of the rotary heat drum is covered by a circulating belt and the belt rotated with the heat drum. In such constructions, lateral displacement and burning of the belt resulting from high temperature take place as well as other complications causing trouble in the temperature control. In such heating drums, if a heating element is arranged at the center of the drum the surface thereof has uniform temperature distribution. Hence, a heat treatment of sensitive material necessitating temperature diflerence treatment cannot be treated.

The present invention is characterized by a fixed heat drum and a cover acting as a guide wall for sensitive material, the cover being arranged at a constant distance from the heat drum, a feed-in roller and a feed-out roller for sensitive material mounted at the opening portion of the cover for feeding-in and -out and transportation of the sensitive material through the gap, and in the interior of the fixed drum a heating element mounted eccentrically and a heat reflection member mounted oppositely thereto and arranged in optional positions so as to produce a different temperature distribution to the fixed drum.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing specification and attached drawing, wherein: a

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of an example of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the circular fixed drum of FIG. 1, in section, a heating element being movably mounted therein.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view of an elliptical fixed drum, and

FIG. 4 illustrates the elliptical fixed drum of FIG. 3, a heating element being movably mounted therein.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a circular fixed heat drum 1, a guide wall for sensitive material and cover 2, a feed-in roller 3 for sensitive material, a feed-out roller 4 for sensitive material, a feed-in and -out roller 5 for sensitive material, a guide member 6 for sensitive material, a heating element 7 and a reflection member 8.

The heating element 7 is arranged eccentrically and thus the portion A of the fixed drum may be heated strongly by direct heating and reflection heating by means of the reflection member 8. 0n the other hand, portion B of the fixed drum will be heated to a lower temperature in comparison to portion A because portion B is far from the heating portion 7 and the application of heat is prevented by the reflection member 8.

3,371,915 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 'A sensitive material 9 is fed by the feed-in rollers 3 and 5 and bent down by the guide member 6, guided by the guide wall and cover 2, passed through the lower temperature heating portion -B for development and then progressed through the higher temperature heating portion A for stabilization or fixation, transported and bent to the right by the upper guide member 6 and finally taken out by the feed-out rollers 4 and 5 as a treated, finished sensitive material.

In FIG. 2, the eccentric position of the heating element is changeable. The heating element 7 and the heat reflection member 8 are rotatably mounted around the rotary axis 10 of the fixed drum, the heating element being caused to move near the point of the drum which requires a high temperature (the reference characters are same as those in FIG. 1).

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the fixed drum 1 for heating shown in FIG. 1 is modified into an elliptical form.

In FIG. 4, the eccentric position of the heating element within the circular fixed drum 1 shown inFIG. 3 is changeable, a supporting member 13 for guiding the rotary axis being mounted so as to connect the points near the focuses 11 and 12 of the ellipse and a rotary axis member 14 provided which is movable along the supporting member on which a heating element 7 and a heat reflection member 8 are mounted for rotation around a rotary shaft 14. In this manner, the heating element can be moved near the point of the drum which requires a higher temperature.

Alternatively, the heat reflection member 8 may be fixedly mounted at a point displaced from the point 8' or movably mounted, and further the heating element and the reflection member may be constructed in a unit by bringing them into closer relation. The closer the heat reflection member 8 comes to the heating element, the more the higher temperature distribution range of the fixed heat drum for heating may be converged. This may be changed appropriately according to the treatment property of sensitive material.

In the construction shown, a belt for transferring a sensitive material is unnecessary, and accordingly various disadvantages relating to the belt can be removed, and also the construction of the machine can be simplified because the heat drum is fixedly mounted. As the heat drum is used under the fixed condition, it is not necessarily required that the shape of the drum itself be circular. Moreover, as the machine is stationary, the detection of temperature is easy as the temperature control may be performed simply and precisely. The greater effect is to be capable of the temperature difference treatment of heat treatment sensitive material, namely of producing different temperature distributions over the surface of the drum for heating, transferring the sensitive material along the surface thereof, performing the development at the initial lower temperature portion (of about 50 C.), and further progressing to the latter higher temperature por tion (of about C.) for stabilizing or fixation treatment.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modifications in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and accordingly it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

1. A treatment machine for heat treating sensitive material, comprising:

(A) a fixed non-rotatable heat drum for heating;

(B) a cover which acts as a guide wall for the sensitive material, said cover positioned at a constant distance from said drum defining a gap and having an openmg portion;

(C) a feed-in roller and a feed-out roller for said sensitive material mounted at said opening portion of said cover for feeding in and out and transferring said sensitive material through said gap;

(D) heating element means mounted eccentrically within the interior of said drum in optional position;

and

(E) a heat reflection member mounted opposite said heating element means in said drum and arranged in optional position so as to produce different temperature distribution to said fixed drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Ishikawa 219388 X KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner. FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Examiner.

A. D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner. 

